So Bracing
by comeonhide
Summary: Post-war Harry/Draco slash. EWE. After the war, Draco moves to the Muggle seaside resort of Skegness. Since no wizard in their right mind would choose to holiday there, he assumes he's safe. But Harry Potter has never really been in his right mind.
1. Chapter 1

_Pairing: Harry/Draco  
><em>_Rating: M  
><em>_Summary: After the war, Draco moves to the Muggle seaside resort of Skegness. Since no wizard in their right mind would choose to holiday there, he assumes he's safe. But Harry Potter has never really been in his right mind.  
><em>_Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me._

_Please review!_

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><p><strong><span>So Bracing - Chapter One<span>**

"Please ensure your child remains seated until the ride comes to a complete halt." Draco's voice was weary and irritable as he spoke into the tannoy and the snappy edge to it earned him glares from twenty or so of the parents who were rushing forwards to collect their little angels from the carousel. It was only the thousandth or so time he'd said it today, but he'd been ignored more or less every time. He could almost excuse the ignorance of the safety rules from the excitable kids, but he'd have thought parents would be more mindful of them. Maybe next time he'd just save his voice and skip the health and safety announcements and let the children dance around on the edge of the merry-go-round. Mummy and Daddy might wish they'd listened to him then, when their darling son or daughter is lying with their brains spilling out onto the concrete.

Unfortunately, while is would teach certain people a lesson or two, that would almost certainly result in him losing his job, and Skegness Pleasure Beach being sued for a small fortune. Instead, Draco made do with playing out the scenario in his head as he opened the gate for the next stampede of screaming children, collecting the bright orange ride tokens from their parents as they went. Through gritted teeth, he repeated all of the safety instructions and then turned the key to begin the ride (and the tinny music that came with it).

As the horses galloped around and around, Draco buried his nose in the copy of _OK! _magazine that had been left in the booth by whoever had been working the carousel last. In an instant, the squeals of delight that he'd been trying to drown out had turned into a chorus of "eurgh!"s and the sound of one or two children crying. Without even looking up, Draco could tell what had happened and he hit the emergency stop button, dropping his magazine down next to his chair. With his nose wrinkled in disgust, he grabbed the 'wet floor' sign, bucket and mop kept for such occurrences and placed them next to the pool of vomit kindly left by a young boy who'd fallen victim to one too many ice creams.

"Exit to the left, please. Sorry for any inconvenience, your tokens for this ride will be refunded," he announced. Impatiently, parents barged forwards trying to grab the tokens from Draco's hand faster than he could give them out. When he'd gotten rid of them all and placed a sign declaring the ride temporarily closed by the entrance, he turned around to deal with the incident. Still kneeling at the feet of the horse, looking rather pale, was the child who'd left the mess for Draco. It took a considerable amount of self-restraint not to throttle the kid, but unfortunately his father was stood right behind him and he'd probably have a word or two to say about Draco's hands ending up around his son's neck.

"I'm sorry about this. Here, let me clean it up." The man reached out to try and take the mop from Draco, but stopped still halfway through his movement, then quickly folded his arms across his chest in an awkward-looking manner. "Um…actually, I think we'd better get going. Sorry again."

Draco watched as the man bent down to pick his son up from the floor, his messy black hair flopping around and his glasses slipping down his nose as he did so, and recognition dropped onto Draco like a ten ton weight.

"Potter," Draco spluttered, and then tried to cover it up with a cough. No, this could not be happening. Out of all the wizards that could've accidentally stumble upon Draco and see what he'd become, it had to be The Chosen One? Fuck, fuck, fuck. He needed to think of something to say, other than an expletive. Nobody could find out he was here, he needed to make sure Potter wouldn't run home and blab to everybody.

"Popping out kids with the She-Weasel already, I see?" Draco was relieved to note his voice remained somewhat steady throughout the question. "He's decidedly less ginger than I'd have expected."

The way Potter's face fell calmed Draco. Insulting Potter and co made him feel as though he were back on familiar territory, though it possibly wouldn't go very far in earning him the favour he was after. An uncomfortable silence settled around them and Draco distracted himself from it by beginning to mop up the mess.

"Malfoy, this is my godson, Teddy Lupin. Remus and Tonks' son."

Draco's face was the one to drop this time and his grip on the mop tightened, turning his knuckles white.

"Ah," he said, looking away to hide the flush of his cheeks. "So not yours and..?"

"No, not mine and Ginny's."

"Ah," he repeated. They stood there for several more moments; Draco spraying disinfectant across the carousel floor and Potter just staring at him as he did it. "You said you had to get going," Draco reminded him eventually.

"What? Oh yeah. Sorry. We'll see you later." Potter's words sounded disjointed and forced and he looked almost as pale as Teddy did. He stood and watched Draco cleaning for a little while longer before remembering he was leaving and almost running with Teddy away from the carousel.

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><p>In the hours that followed, Draco had two more people throw up on the carousel and a missing child alert five minutes before park closing. His mood only worsened throughout the day and by the time he returned to his flat that night, he was feeling no better about Potter's appearance than he had been when he was actually stood face to face with his enemy.<p>

The encounter had been a disaster on so many levels that he couldn't even decide what it was that bothered him the most about being reunited with Potter. It could be the humiliation of being seen working in a Muggle theme park, of all places, by one of the people he hated the most. Or perhaps it was the embarrassment of sticking his foot in his mouth and assuming that Teddy was one of the Weasley's offspring. And then there was the general annoyance that always came with seeing the Boy-Who-Lived, and of course the fear. The fear that Potter would open his big gob and let slip to the Wizarding World that Draco Malfoy was living and working as a Muggle in Skegness.

He wasn't going to kid himself; he knew most people would, upon hearing that news, take a few minutes to laugh and ponder the wonders of karma, and then it'd be forgotten. He really wasn't up his own arse enough to think that people still cared what the Malfoys were up to. Then again, he also wasn't naïve enough to think that disappearing for a few years would've earned him forgiveness. People could hold grudges for a long time and all it would take was for Potter to mention who he bumped into to the wrong person for all of Draco's hard work to be unwound.

He needed to see Potter again.


	2. Chapter 2

_Pairing: Harry/Draco  
><em>_Rating: M  
><em>_Summary: After the war, Draco moves to the Muggle seaside resort of Skegness. Since no wizard in their right mind would choose to holiday there, he assumes he's safe. But Harry Potter has never really been in his right mind.  
><em>_Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me.  
><em>_Author's Note: Just to clear this up, chapters will be alternating between Harry's and Draco's POV._

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><p><strong>So Bracing - Chapter Two<strong>

Harry was far too concerned about his sick godson to be even remotely interested in what Malfoy was doing working at Skegness Pleasure Beach as a ride operator. Without giving a second thought to the blond, he'd rushed Teddy back to the caravan for some Calpol and a nap to try and sleep off the tummy ache.

Or at least, that's what he'd like people to believe. The bit about the Calpol and the nap was true, but the truth was (and yes, he was aware this made him a terrible guardian to Teddy) he'd thought about nothing but Malfoy and his intentions and how had he ended up here and why Skegness, of all places? Not that he'd given much thought to Malfoy before now. He'd noted his absence at various events that he really ought to have attended (like, for example, _his own trial_), but other than that Harry had had far more important things to think about in his life than when the last time anybody spotted Malfoy was.

He didn't bother considering why he now suddenly felt as though he had to know everything that had led up to this point.

"Harry, I'm feeling better now!"

Harry looked up from the television and shuffled across the sofa bed to make room for his godson, who clambered up and leaned against Harry, grinning widely. Though spending the evening watching TV quiz shows on a fuzzy television set wasn't the ideal way to spend day one of your first ever holiday, it was a relief to know that the sleep had done Teddy some good.

"Brilliant! It'd be rubbish if we spent the whole holiday with you feeling poorly, wouldn't it?"

Teddy nodded in agreement and took the remote from Harry's hand, changing the TV from _Eggheads_ to _Bob the Builder_. The two watched that together for a few minutes and Harry was just about to suggest some dinner when Teddy tapped him on the shoulder.

"Was the ride man angry at me for being sick?" he asked thoughtfully. "He looked like it."

"No, of course he wasn't angry. You couldn't help it."

"Good. So he won't shout at me if we go back tomorrow to try the rest of the rides?" Teddy's eyes were wide and hopeful.

"Of course he won't shout at you, Ted. So is that what you want to do tomorrow; go back to the Pleasure Beach?" Teddy nodded enthusiastically. "Alright then. Just maybe don't eat so much candy floss this time," Harry suggested.

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><p>The following morning, Harry was half hoping that Teddy would change his mind or maybe forget about the Pleasure Beach. There was still all of Skegness to explore and so many things that Harry wanted to do with Teddy and a week wasn't that long. There was building sandcastles on the beach and paddling in the sea, trying to win the little trinkets from the coin pushers in the amusement arcades, shopping for souvenirs for Ron and Hermione and Andromeda at the famous Ingoldmells market, and none of those things involved the risk of another awkward encounter with Malfoy.<p>

However, it seemed the five year old had his heart set on riding the carousel until he was dizzy, and Harry wasn't about to disappoint him. Besides, there was no saying that they would bump into Malfoy again today and even if they did, there was no reason to stay and chat.

Harry would admit he was curious, yes, but he could hardly walk up to Malfoy and pass him the ride tokens with a casual _"by the way, why exactly are you working in a minimum wage job in a town swarming with Muggles when everybody back home knows you hate their non-magical guts?" _could he? No. Since asking Malfoy the questions he really wanted to know the answers to wasn't an option, the second best alternative was to try and avoid him for the rest of the week and then never have to worry about seeing him again.

They arrived at the park just as the gates opened and all morning there hadn't a glimpse of Malfoy. Harry was beginning to relax and was having a great time with his godson, who thankfully didn't look anywhere near throwing up. They'd ridden the teacups, the carousel and the Ferris wheel together, they'd played Hook a Duck and won a toy pirate ship, and they'd taken silly photographs of each other (although the ones taken by Teddy were mostly blurred or obscured by fingers over the lens). Now there was just one more ride that Teddy had his eye on before lunch; the Safari Train.

"Look! That train's all shaped like animals! I wanna sit in the elephant one! Wait no, the tiger one!" Teddy was positively bouncing with excitement as he used all of his strength to drag Harry over to the queue, suddenly stilling as they drew nearer. "It's that man again," he whispered. "He still looks angry."

Harry glanced over at the man and sure enough it was Malfoy, the sneer on his face as ever-present as always.

"I think he always looks like that Teddy. It'll be fine; he's not going to be mad at you."

Teddy seemed to accept this and began running towards the front with just as much enthusiasm as before, waiting by the booth for Harry to give the ride tokens to the angry ride man. As Harry caught up with Teddy, Malfoy's sneer changed into a strange sort of smirk, as though he was trying to hold back laughter and Harry wanted to know what was so funny.

"You're too tall to ride the Safari Train, Potter." Suddenly it became apparent why Malfoy had been smirking. Up close, Harry could see that anybody over the age of twelve was probably too tall to ride the Safari Train.

"Fine," he replied icily, as though it was some sort of personal insult. "I'll wait here for you Teddy."

After a moment's hesitation, Teddy ran forwards and jumped into the carriage shaped like a tiger alone, waving at Harry and smiling for photographs. After a few minutes, when Malfoy had finished securing the doors on the carriages, the train lurched into motion.

"Somebody's feeling better, I see," Malfoy said. "He seems to be having a whale of a time."

"A lot better now I've assured him that the 'angry ride man' from yesterday wasn't going to shout at him. You scared him yesterday." Malfoy raised an eyebrow at this and Harry wanted to slap the smug look off of his face. "It's not something to be proud of, Malfoy! He almost didn't want to come back because of you."

"Oh, and that would've been such a shame!" He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Then I might have missed out on this riveting conversation."

Harry didn't justify that with a reply, he wasn't going to get into an argument with Malfoy, in the middle of a Muggle theme park. Besides, the ride was slowing down now and he especially wasn't going to be seen arguing with Malfoy in front of his godson.

"That was the best ride _ever_!" Teddy squealed as he ran out of the exit gate and into Harry's arms. "Can I go again?"

"Of course you can." Harry placed an orange token into Teddy's hand, and then pointed at Malfoy. "Give that to the man." Harry looked over Teddy's head at Malfoy and glared at him, silently mouthing the word, "apologise." Matching his glare, Malfoy nodded back and then looked away.

"Thank you," Malfoy said warmly as he accepted the token, which on its own was a shock to Harry. Then he bent down to Teddy's level and smiled. "Po-…er, Harry told me that I scared you yesterday and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to look angry at you and I'm glad you're feeling a lot better today."

Harry was shocked, but pleased nonetheless, that Malfoy had actually apologised properly. It was one of the first decent things he'd seen him do since…well, ever. It had nothing to do with the fact that they knew each other though, Harry was sure. It would just be Malfoy trying to give good customer service, probably hankering for a promotion.

If Malfoy had been willing to do that for Harry for the sake of customer service, what else what he do? Would he divulge the information that Harry wanted in order to keep the customers happy too? It was worth a try, Harry reasoned. If it went well, Harry had what he wanted and his curiosity would be satisfied. If it went badly, it was doubtful Malfoy would cause a scene because then Harry could just complain to his manager.

"You're right, it would've been a shame if we didn't come back today," Harry mused. "Because then I wouldn't have been able to ask you just what you're doing working here." His question went ignored by Malfoy, and Harry repeated himself, more loudly. "Seriously Malfoy, what are you doing in Skegness?"

"That's really none of your business, Potter," Malfoy muttered quietly, before barging past him to let the children off of the Safari Train. Harry wasn't put off by Malfoy's obvious reluctance to speak about the topic and paid for Teddy to ride the Safari Train a third time, determined to get some sort of an answer out of Malfoy.

"I just don't understand why, out of everywhere, you chose to come here? You must hate it. You can't just disappear for years and then expect nobody to care when you do show up." Harry stared hard at Malfoy, trying to will the answers out of him.

"I said it's none of your business."

"But-"

"No, Potter. No buts. All you need to know is that I live here now and nobody, not a single other person, can find out that I'm here. Do you understand? When you go back home after your little family holiday, just forget you ever saw me." Malfoy was staring right back at Harry now and there was a definite pleading tone to his voice as he continued. "Please, don't say a word. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going for my lunch."

Harry looked confused. What could possibly have happened to Malfoy to make him so desperate to stay in Skegness, undisturbed? It was obvious that even the possibility of being discovered was upsetting him, but Harry still wasn't ready to let the topic drop.

"Come for lunch with Teddy and me," Harry offered suddenly, without thinking. "I want to know more. You can't expect me to keep quiet just because you asked me to. I need more information. Come for lunch and if I'm happy with your story, I'll keep it to myself."

It was obvious from Malfoy's face that he'd been put in a very tricky situation. He looked to be weighing up the options in his head and he didn't seem happy about it. Harry felt briefly guilty about forcing him into this situation, but then he doubted Malfoy's reasons for running off to Skegness were honourable in the first place and felt a lot better about it all.

The Safari Train drew to a halt and Malfoy walked off to fulfil his duties as ride operator. Harry thought for a second he'd lost his chance to find out what he wanted to know and was already thinking of excuses to bring Teddy back here later in the week for another go at solving the mystery. But then, moments later, Malfoy returned, his face set into a heavy frown.

"I'll come for lunch with you."

Harry couldn't contain the smug grin that those words brought to his face. He'd won!


End file.
